Cup O’ Joe: Time for thanks

It is hard to believe, but Thanksgiving time has arrived once again.
Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. It combines three things I enjoy immensely — eating, watching football and spending time with the family. It really doesn’t get much better than that.
    For years, when we lived on the coast, Thanksgiving was held at our home, with either set of parents coming down “to the water” to spend the day with us. That was a pretty good setup, even though a lot of prep work went into it.
We typically have our meal in the mid-afternoon. The premise was that by having a meal at 2 p.m. it might hold us over until morning. But what usually happens is plenty of snacking before the meal, preferably shrimp rings, taco dips and perhaps a smattering of bacon-wrapped scallops.
Many strive for that perfect holiday setting, but more often, it seems that the festivities transform into a scaled-down version of a Clark Griswold family gathering from the “Vacation” movies.
One year we forgot to take the innards out of the turkey before cooking it for several hours. Thankfully, it did not catch fire and burn the house down.
There was the year my wife experimented with a sausage-based stuffing, which I thought was awesome, but others didn’t care for. Thankfully, a box of Stove Top saved the day.
And almost every year, we would forget something. Whether it was jellied cranberry or cool whip for the chocolate cream pie, something always got left out resulting in a mad dash to whatever store you can find open on Thanksgiving Day and pay nearly three times what you should for the product.
One of the more interesting gatherings came the year that many members of my wife’s family came to our home for the meal. Just as we sat down to the dinner table, I glanced out the window and saw a flock of at least 12 wild turkeys walk down our driveway and into our back yard on their way to the woods. It was almost as if they were taunting us, but it was comical nonetheless.
It was during our time on the coast that I came up with the “My House, My Rule” manifesto. It was the first time in my adult life that I was actually able to use that rule instead of my father and I relished it. If I wanted to spend the day sitting in front of the television for the annual tradition of watching the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys in back-to-back football games, so be it. It was my house, so they were my rules.
Once children came into the picture, things became more family-oriented. We started a tradition of putting up the Christmas decorations on Thanksgiving weekend and would often go to a cut-your-own Christmas tree farm in search of the “perfect” tree.
This year, though, before diving into the plentiful meal, perhaps we should all pause for a moment and think of those less fortunate. How many people do we know that have no place to call home this year?
While there remains much unrest with the economy, there is still plenty to be thankful for this holiday season. For me, I am thankful for my health (with the exception of a nagging cold) and the health of my family. We know others who are struggling with family illnesses, and it has served as a not-so-subtle reminder that time is precious and we should enjoy every moment.
I am thankful that I have a loving wife who puts up with all the things that I do that annoy her (like writing about our lives for everyone to read about each week). I am thankful for two happy and healthy children who amaze me on a daily basis.
I am thankful that my parents get to spend more time with my children. Many grandparents wish they had this luxury. I am also thankful for the friends that I have been able to reconnect with since moving back to the Shiretown, and for the ones that I have been able to stay close with who no longer live here.
School play
On an unrelated note, kudos to the student body of Houlton High School for its stellar work in putting on yet another high quality musical event. This year’s production of the Broadway musical “Hairspray” delighted audiences in four strong showings at the high school.
Choral director Jason Anderson and his staff of volunteers once again came up with a brilliant show to entertain the masses and should be commended for their long hours spent in the auditorium.
As a reminder, our offices will be closed Thursday, but will reopen on Friday. The staff of the Houlton Pioneer Times wishes you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving.